The glory
long-haired days when Michael Kiske was part of Helloween suddenly seem so
far away. Frontiers, a record label well rooted in the Classic sphere of
Rock and Metal have organised this collaboration between Kiske and Amanda
Somerville. For those oblivious on the identity of the latter, Somerville is
a singer who’s accumulated an enviable curriculum of collaborations,
including Epica, Kamelot, Avantasia, Dan McCafferty (Nazareth) and Bobby
Kimball (Toto). Interestingly, “Kiske-Somerville” was produced by Matt
Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner), who also wrote/co-wrote most of the album’s
songs.

As suggested,
nor is this album ‘Heavy Metal’ (as the press-sheet describes it) and
neither is it groundbreaking by any stretch. In fact it’s pretty much a
collection of Melodic Rock songs that stand a very good chance of appealing
to listeners alien to Metal. Taken for what it is, “Kiske-Somerville” is
quite a decent album with an abundance of catchy melodies and Bluesy-Rock
solos plus, as one would expect, a couple of standard ballads.

If until now
this review hasn’t put you off the album, then this Kiske-Somerville
collaboration is one release you’ll almost certainly enjoy.